I will make a statement right now that pretty much defines the reason this song is on the list: I love the electric guitar.
Last month I was on a roll while writing this column and I included some of what I consider to be the best guitar-rock songs of all time: Television’s “Marquee Moon” and Neil Young’s “Cortez the Killer.”
It got me thinking about THE band that defines the melodic dual guitar for the ages: Dublin’s best band, the highly underrated Thin Lizzy.
Thin Lizzy has so many great songs, it was hard to choose one. I chose the campy (yet somehow sincere) third single from their classic 1976 album “Jailbreak.”
“The Cowboy Song” endures because it has one of the catchiest, most memorable twin-guitar harmony leads ever. First, singer/songwriter/bassist/band leader Phil Lynott sings a somber refrain about his lonely time on the plains:
I am just a cowboy lonesome on the trail/A starry night, a campfire light/The coyote call, the howling winds wail/So I ride out to the old sundown
At :43, a muted version of the lick begins as a teaser. And then it happens. Founding member/drummer Brian Downey starts the drum buildup and there’s a brief preview of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson‘s sweet guitarmonies and the sweetness to come. One of the catchiest choruses Lynott ever wrote comes in at about 1:30.
Sure, the lyrics are cheesy. But somehow, along with the music, they actually manage to evoke the Old West. Later in the song, the guitar/drum breakdown makes me think of trotting horses. Lynott’s smooth delivery and staccato phrasing sets up the guitar explosion and then it’s off to the races at a full gallop!
If this song doesn’t put a smile on your face, then you must not like rock n’ roll.
The Great Songs series so far:
The Great Songs: Big Star – Thirteen
The Great Songs: The Kinks – Waterloo Sunset
The Great Songs: The Jayhawks – Blue
The Great Songs: Pavement – Summer Babe
The Great Songs: The Zombies – Care of Cell 44
The Great Songs: The O’Jays – Back Stabbers
The Great Songs: Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure
The Great Songs: George Jones – He Stopped Loving Her Today
The Great Songs: Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
The Great Songs: The Flying Burrito Brothers – Hot Burrito #1
The Great Songs: The Flaming Lips – Do You Realize??
The Great Songs: Pink Floyd – Astronomy Domine
The Great Songs: The Beach Boys – Surf’s Up
The Great Songs: Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get it On
The Great Songs: Slayer – Angel of Death
The Great Songs: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Beyond Belief
The Great Songs: The Replacements – Unsatisfied
The Great Songs: Cheap Trick – Surrender
The Great Songs: Guided by Voices – Motor Away
The Great Songs: The Louvin Brothers – Knoxville Girl
The Great Songs: Badfinger – Baby Blue
The Great Songs: Ray Charles – That Lucky Old Sun
The Great Songs: Television – Marquee Moon
The Great Songs: Neil Young and Crazy Horse – Cortez the Killer
The Great Songs: David Bowie – Life On Mars?
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of Scene-Stealers.com and writes for The Pitch. He’s former President of the KCFCC, and drummer for The Dead Girls, Ultimate Fakebook, and Truck Stop Love . He is also Air Guitar World Champion Mean Melin. Eric goes to 11. Follow him at:
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite has always been Don’t Believe a Word, but there are just so many great Thin Lizzy tracks to choose from
Yeah, that’s a great one too–we do that one in our tribute band Thik Lizzy. Ha!
This song is one of a classic from a band that is no longer with us. I love how it builds with melodic guitars and then breaks it down and then up again with a tasteful lick towards it’s crescnendo to being it home! I really miss Phil and his ability to being his passion and struggle as a musician, as well as a human being. He was too young to leave us!